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And now for dwarves: https://warfantasy.wordpress.com/2023/08/16/building-a-fantasy-army-dwarves/

Agreed. Most of fantasy simply does not think through the implications of Elves being damn-near immortal.

https://warfantasy.wordpress.com/2023/08/15/building-a-fantasy-army-elves/

That is actually far from certain: Proper armour was face-hardened, and helmets also had helmet liner - which was basically the same stuff as arming doublet / gambeson worn under the rest of the armour. And that stuff was actually quite good at stopping arrows even on its own. IIRC, accounts...

Mostly because it is the basics that fantasy authors typically get wrong. I am planning at writing articles on specific fantasy creatures in the future, with this series as the basis, but that is still some time off.

Goblins are basically dwarves, but physically weaker. For orcs, they could just use human tactics. So I didn't feel the need to mention them specifically.

Tha last part: https://warfantasy.wordpress.com/2023/08/13/building-a-fantasy-army-part-8-weapons-and-tactics/

Probably, though the need to feed massive dragons would at least explain why they had to create such a large empire. Yeah, but light rails means being limited to railways. Not impossible, but... as for the rest, agreed, though I will note that warfare was waged during winter even before...

https://warfantasy.wordpress.com/2023/08/12/building-a-fantasy-army-part-7-logistics/

Expense of mercenaries would still prevent such numbers from being maintained long-term. Also, 1% is merely rule-of-thumb; as I have explained in the article, a lot depends on what troops you have, and how you are supporting them. A full-time professional army of heavy cavalry will field far...

https://warfantasy.wordpress.com/2023/08/11/building-a-fantasy-army-part-6-numbers/

Not so much money as society. Peasants who are treated as crap by their social superiors will not be very keen to die for the society they live in. But even free, well-treated and well-equipped peasants were generally no match for a proper army, unless they managed to turn terrain into their...

That would be the themata. Tagmata were full-time professionals. Agreed. Peasants could be effective in irregular warfare and sieges (see Siege of Belgrade). But they could never form the basis of a field army.

Sack of Antwerp in 1576. And it was not just "wealthy city", but the seat of regional Spanish government. Though I don't think it was just one missed payment.

Part 5, or how to recruit the troops for the army: https://warfantasy.wordpress.com/2023/08/10/building-a-fantasy-army-part-5-recruitment/

Part 4: https://warfantasy.wordpress.com/2023/08/09/building-a-fantasy-army-part-4-organization/

For the most part, yes. Though in that case general conditions are often more important: British could afford to build large numbers of first-rates because they were a) rich and b) on island, so they didn't have to spend large sums on army. French, Dutch, Danes, all of them had to maintan...

Part 3, discussing strategy: https://warfantasy.wordpress.com/2023/08/08/building-a-fantasy-army-part-3-strategy-and-enemies/

Part 7 of the series is about logistics. And one of first things discussed is the armour supply. For now, all I will say about your post is: yes, but not quite. Munitions armour has existed since Antiquity, but has required a centralized state with state-owned workshops (so Roman Empire and...

Second part, discussing the influence of society and politics: https://warfantasy.wordpress.com/2023/08/07/building-a-fantasy-army-part-2-society-and-politics/